Another Twist in the Montreal Canadiens' Alexei Kovalev Story

Note to the editor: Please do not change the headline.

Alexei Kovalev apparently wants to come back after his two-game forced vacation from the Montreal Canadiens by general manager Bob Gainey.

"I'm nobody, I don't control anything here," Kovalev told TSN. "All I can promise is hopefully I can come back and play better and help my team...I have no choice," Kovalev said.

Earlier today (Wednesday), unconfirmed rumors were reported on a Montreal-based web site ruefrontenac.com saying Kovalev wasn't happy with the way that the younger players were behaving off-ice.

Add that to another rumor that he said—that his playing days in Montreal are over.

Kovalev emailed TSN's Darren Dreger to refute the reports.

"It's not my words, but I can't tell you whose…I never talk about my teammates," he said.

"I don't care what people say about me or write about me.  I just want to come back and play hard."

As I stated in an earlier article, the younger players should watch their off-ice behavior. There were pictures of their behavior. Players were named by former Habs coach Jean Perron.

Closing thoughts

Before we jump to any conclusions, let's see what will Bob Gainey do next. A new report states that both Gainey and Kovalev met to find a solution.

My prediction? Alexei Kovalev will be back.